Roll With the Tide

Today was the first day I really had a hard time knowing I was not able to hang out with my friends from home. I absolutely love my friends here, but there is something different about being able to go get Cookout and talk for a million hours about nothing right before you go to sleep. It was also the first day I got really sick so that didn’t help too much! Here is a list of things I have been so thankful for this week just being able to be here:

1. Aguilas Baseball Game – Tuesday night was a playoff game for the Aguilas (the team from Santiago) and the team from Santo Domingo. Baseball is a huge deal here and this game was an even bigger deal. Literally everywhere I went that day you could find someone talking about the game. I even got to hit a home run with some boys playing baseball in the street with a stick and a peanut butter lid on the way home from the university. (I have also found that if you beat the guys to the punch by saying “hello” first, there are a lot fewer piropos which is SO great!)

Friends from my program and I met up and took a concho down to the stadium to meet an excited crowd that would literally fill the entire stadium. (Please refer to Instagram for pictures!) The energy was incredibly contagious as people would dance and sing “La Cacata” and wave flags and blast vuvuzelas. There were even some nice Dominicans sitting in front of us who let me wave their gigantic yellow flag after a home run.

Not to mention it was a great day to run into a familiar Wofford face! We never see each other, so it is exciting when we just happen to see each other as we are in the same place at the same time. We have resolved to take a picture together every time this happens so we can keep track.

2. Book of Ruth – I was blessed to be able to take this class with Dr. McCane in the spring of last year. I realized how much is actually packed into that story that I am so glad my eyes were opened to. Here, God has opened up my eyes to so many things and so many people unseen. I have learned to take notice of the small things that may not be shiny and new. I’m seeing through a different pair of eyes and really developing a heart that shows how broken our lives can be and ruined by iniquity but the lens sees the good beyond sin’s ugly stain and brought to be restored by an ugly cross. (Check out Jesus’ Eyes for a great read!)

“Blessed be the one who took notice of you.” Ruth 2:19

3. Mooshi – I haven’t gotten a great picture of him yet, but this little member of the family makes me smile every day. This is the cat that joins us for every meal and knows all of the meal times. He patiently partakes in the pleasantries until we are finished eating and my host mom brings him a small plate outside. I’ll try to post one soon!

4. My underwear hanging on the clothesline outside. I find this SO embarrassing, but you can’t help but laugh. It adds a little bit of comic relief when I see those in the morning outside of my window. Starts the day off with a giggle for sure.

5. Everything God is showing me here that I would never be able to put into words and one blog post would not do it justice. I’d love to talk about it with you so please ask!

I love being here and I am so excited to start working in the community this week. I’ll let you know how everything goes!